Rise of The Demon General

”Surprisingly, you seem to be proficient in all mental power categories,” Nao Pei said after probing into Amon’s Sea of Consciousness. ”I should say it is rare to possess such inherent talent. Nevertheless, you can choose only one to have the power of a second-tier Sea of Consciousness. All the other powers will be at their weakest. Which one will you choose?”

Amon gave the matter a thought. He had to choose one among the four categories. After some time, he answered Nao Pei, ”Mind blast.”

”Are you sure? You should know that we can’t redo this once we proceed,” Nao Pei warned.

Amon nodded his affirmation.

Mind reading might be handy, but he was already proficient in reading other people’s intent through keen observation and deduction. If he had mind reading, he might end up dulling this skill. He didn’t want that. Some people could defend against mind reading, such as he and the inhabitants of this village. Those who had trained their Sea of Consciousness could block others from reading their minds as long as their mental power wasn’t too far apart.

He would have chosen mind control if he had not possessed this ability. Not him, though. It was Lin Li. Lin Li’s special power was extremely similar to this branch of mental power. She possessed the three powers of mind control. She could induce hallucinations. Her Mesmerizing Voice could persuade others to do what she asked. Lastly, when her tail grew to a full ninth length, she acquired a new ability. She could take complete control over someone for a short period. This was similar to the possession ability of mind control. The only power she didn’t have from this branch was mind transfer.

As for telekinesis, he considered it the most useless. This ability could be considered physical rather than mental power. He could do much more with his cultivation power. Having a telekinetic ability only added a little to his options but did not strengthen him.

He had tested Nao Pei’s telekinetic power. He once asked Nao Pei to hold him down using telekinesis. Nao Pei did make it hard for him to move. It was like invisible hands were grabbing him and pressing him down. But even after Nao Pei used his full strength, he couldn’t truly stop Amon. Probably Nao Ling Dao, who was one tier above Nao Pei, could, but only for now. Once Amon’s cultivation improved, the full power of telekinesis would still be defeated by cultivation power.

Mind blast, however, was different. He had experienced getting hit by such mental assaults in past battles. If he could do it to halt his opponent’s movement, even for only a fraction of a second, he could turn any battle into victory. From what he knew, there were almost no options for cultivators to defend against mental attacks aside from natural resistance. This meant having mind blast would provide him with an arsenal that complemented his fighting prowess.

”Very well,” Nao Pei said. ”I will begin. You are lucky. I am a mind practitioner who has mind blast as my secondary power, so I should have no problem helping you train to the second tier.”

The interesting thing about mind power was that the practitioners could help each other grow, provided that the one helping possessed a higher tier of the ability. One could train on their own, but that would take much longer. In other words, a community of mind practitioners could help each other grow quickly.

This trait provided mind practitioners with the potential to develop into a considerable force. He understood now why the Divine turned on the first mind practitioner who taught others his power. With such a potential, the mind practitioners would grow into a force too large for the Divine to control. For a control freak like him, that would be a concerning future. That’s why he had them banned and hunted them to extinction.

As Nao Pei’s mind touched his Sea of Consciousness, Amon felt information entering his mind. Information that he couldn’t describe in words. The electricity coursing through his Sea of Consciousness became active again. This time, the clouds around his Sea of Consciousness also moved. They formed into a pattern, and the electricity now beat at a discernible rhythm along these clouds.

Once that happened, he knew how to perform a mind blast for some reason. Additionally, he could feel this ability strengthening.

After several hours, Nao Pei stopped. Amon saw him sweating. The activity drained his mental stamina.

”You can continue training by yourself if you wish,” Nao Pei told Amon. ”The progress will be slow. I will help you again tomorrow. I estimate that if we do this daily, it should be only two more weeks till you reach the ceiling of first-tier mind blast and can proceed to the second tier.”

”Thank you, I will be depending on you,” Amon said.

When Nao Pei was about to leave, he looked to one side and uttered, ”Nao Mei...?”

Nao Mei appeared out of thin air after the call.

Nao Pei asked her, ”How long have you been there?”

”I have a feeling you two have been up to something, so I used hallucination to cloak my approach. You have violated our rules. Are you not afraid of the elders’ punishment?”

Amon didn’t sense Nao Mei’s approach. Her third-tier hallucination power could even fool cultivation sense, and since she had no ill intent toward Amon, his danger instinct also didn’t sense her.

Nao Pei lowered his head upon Nao Mei’s admonishment, but only for a breath. His face showed determination when he stared at Nao Mei. ”What rules? These are the rules forced onto us. Nao Mei, I know you also feel resentment for being imprisoned here. We shouldn’t keep letting them deny us our freedom!”

”Did you hear what you are saying? Do you intend on rebelling? The rules are there to keep us safe from the outside world!”

”What’s the point of being safe if you have to be a prisoner for the rest of your life?!”

The two stopped speaking, but they continued to stare at one another. Neither seemed willing to change their opinion.

Finally, Nao Mei stated, ”I will report you to the elders.”

”If you do, it is the same as murdering him,” Amon stated.

Nao Mei turned to Amon and said, ”Stay out of this, outsider!”

Amon ended his meditation and stood. ”Look, I know the two of you are good friends. You two are fond of one another, more so than anyone else in this village. I am certain of it after speaking with you all this time. Because of that, I must ask you this, Nao Mei. Are you sure you are okay to see Nao Pei being executed?”

”... It might not be that severe,” Nao Mei said.

”Yet, it is also not out of the question, isn’t it? None of you ever tell me why a village that used to house two hundred villagers has waned to its current condition. No villager may leave while your elders keep going out to recruit new members. Yet, your number keeps declining instead of increasing. I bet many of those now gone were those who finally could take it no more. They either ended their own lives or attempted to escape this place, either by sneaking or rebellion. Am I right?”

Nao Mei didn’t answer, but Amon could see from her expression that his guess wasn’t far off. He continued, ”As I said, you are a good friend of Nao Pei. You should know that he longs for freedom. Even if not because of me, he will eventually follow the footsteps of those who tried to escape before. He will meet the same fate as theirs. Do you wish for that to happen?”

Nao Mei lowered her head and replied softly, ”... no.”

”I also know that you harbored the same longing as him. You are just afraid that the elders will punish you too. I give you my word, I won’t let that happen. I will help the two of you and those who long for freedom to flee this place, and I will change the outside world into a place where you are no longer hunted.”

”The more impossible the promise you make, the more difficult it is for me to trust you.”

”I consider my promise difficult, but not impossible. Those in this village should have heard what I told your elders. I came to the upper world to defeat the Divine. I am serious about it. I will leave this village, and that will bring me into conflict with your elders. The question is whether you will stand by me then, or against me.”

Nao Pei made his intention clear by standing beside Amon.

Nao Mei felt conflicted seeing that. She said, ”You are delusional. Don’t think because your cultivation is high, you can win against the elders. You don’t know what their power is capable of.”

”I have a better idea now thanks to Nao Pei, and I’m confident I can come out on top.”

Upon Amon’s words, the Titan Battle Puppet materialized behind him.

”That...” Both Nao Mei and Nao Pei were startled by the puppet’s sudden appearance.

”Battle puppets possess no mind. Other than telekinesis, your mind power means nothing to it.”

Ten more high-tier battle puppets materialized around them.

Amon said, ”I have more, many more. When the time comes, your elders will regret not letting me leave this village.”